Microsoft is buying LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in Cash!

Yesterday came as a huge surprise when Microsoft announced that they are going to buy the professional networking website LinkedIn for just over $26bn (That’s INR 1744858700000.00 btw!) in cash.

Shares belonging to LinkedIn increased by 47% after this was made public to $193. Trading in Microsoft has been halted for now because of this all cash deal. Microsoft has promised $196 per share which is a great deal for the professional networking site and is 50% more than their closing premium.

This is the largest purchase by Microsoft ( They bought Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011 and Nokia for $7.6 billion in 2013). LinkedIn which was founded in 2002 has grown into the largest professional social network, with 105 million active monthly users and more than 433 million accounts.

The whole thing was announced on their Blog post Yesterday evening. Check out Satya Nadella and Jeff Weiner talking on Microsoft acquiring LinkedIn:

The first thing which comes to mind is that now Microsoft has access to a large volume of prospective customers, specially those who would buy the office 365 products.

CEO Satya Nadella said that “This combination will make it possible for new experiences such as a LinkedIn newsfeed that serves up articles based on the project you are working on and Office suggesting an expert to connect with via LinkedIn to help with a task you’re trying to complete. As these experiences get more intelligent and delightful, the LinkedIn and Office 365 engagement will grow,”

“The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in the blog post. “Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet.”

Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn’s CEO, said that this acquisition will help Microsoft on its mission to become the premier b2b and workplace company. “Just as we have changed the way the world connects to opportunity, this relationship with Microsoft, and the combination of their cloud and LinkedIn’s network, now gives us a chance to also change the way the world works,” Weiner said.

He will still serve as the CEO and Report to Mr. Nadella. Microsoft also expects LinkedIn, which will be part of its productivity and business processes segment, to have a minimal negative impact—about 1%—on adjusted earnings for its fiscal 2017 and 2018 years. The deal is expected to add to Microsoft’s per-share earnings in 2019.

This is a big game changer for the professional networking site and we are sure we will see more Mircrosoft products visible on it with time. Reminds us of the time when Facebook bought Instagram although this is way huge!

WeBeeSocial is a full service creative digital marketing agency in New Delhi India.